the establishment of a universal most Christian republic, composed of all
the kings and potentates of Europe who profess the name of Christ; for,
in order to bring about so great a blessing, you must needs have tranquil
possession of a great, rich, opulent, and populous kingdom, and be in a
condition to enter into great and trustworthy foreign associations."
[_OEconomies royales, or Memoires de Sully,_ t. ii. pp. 81-100.] One is
inclined to believe that, even before their conversations, Henry IV. was
very near being of Rosny's opinion; but it is a long stride from an
opinion to a resolution. In spite of the breadth and independence of his
mind, Henry IV. was sincerely puzzled. He was of those who, far from
clinging to a single fact and confining themselves to a single duty, take
account of the complication of the facts amidst which they live, and of
the variety of the duties which the general situation or their own
imposes upon them. Born in the Reformed faith, and on the steps of the
throne, he was struggling to defend his political rights whilst keeping
his religious creed; but his religious creed was not the fruit of very
mature or very deep conviction; it was a question of first claims and of
honor rather than a matter of conscience; and, on the other hand, the
peace of France, her prosperity, perhaps her territorial integrity, were
dependent upon the triumph of the political rights of the Bearnese. Even
for his brethren in creed his triumph was a benefit secured, for it was
an end of persecution and a first step towards liberty. There is no
measuring accurately how far ambition, personal interest, a king's
egotism, had to do with Henry's IV.'s abjuration of his religion; none
would deny that those human infirmities were present; but all this does
not prevent the conviction that patriotism was uppermost in Henry's soul,
and that the idea of his duty as king towards France, a prey to all the
evils of civil and foreign war, was the determining motive of his
resolution. It cost him a great deal. To the Huguenot gentry and
peasantry who had fought with him he said, "You desire peace; I give it